Get 10% off the purchase price with every order of 12 bottles or more of still wine not already on sale. The savings add up!
Candela Prol, highly experienced certified wine educator and friend of the shop, is available for tastings and training for private and corporate events. For rates and other inquiries, please contact her at candelaprol@gmail.com .
*Offsite events are contracted to and coordinated by a 3rd party, and are in no way affiliated with Chambers Street Wines.
We don't usually get too excited about Beaujolais Nouveau, but after tasting the 2022 from Jean-Paul Brun at the Domaine des Terres Dorées, we felt obliged to send an email!
It's delicious. Organic farming, wild yeast fermentation, Burgundian vinification (not carbonic maceration), no sugar, 12.5% alcohol. What's not to like?
100% Gamay. The Terres Dorées L'Ancien vines are among Jean Paul's oldest at 40-60 years old. They grow on the sandy clay-limestone hills in his home village of Charnay in the southern Beaujolais and yield small, thick-skinned berries. The farming is organic and harvest manual. The earliest harvest of these vines goes into his Nouveau. Unlike any other Nouveau out there, there is no carbonic maceration (true for all of his Gamays). The bunches are destemmed, the fruit crushed and fermented with native yeasts in tank, notably with no chaptalization; it is aged briefly, though longer than most Nouveaux, and bottled in time to land in the states by December. Yum!
And while we're on the subject, we love Jean-Paul's beautiful Côte de Brouilly as well. From 50 year-old vines on a steep section of Mont Brouilly with a south-east exposition at about 1,000 ft of altitude. The thin soil is almost entirely stones of granite with a high iron content. (A more interesting terroir than the thicker, damper soils of Brouilly.) This is a gorgeous wine! Lovely, ripe blackberry and raspberry/strawberry fruit aromas with a touch of violets and earth. The palate is ripe but balanced with black and red fruit liqueur and fresh citrusy acids that linger in the finish. A beautiful Beaujolais for current drinking and over the next few years (Arrives 12/14)
The Beautiful 2020s from Georges Descombes are here! The delicious Morgon and Brouilly are back in stock, along with the fabulous Regnié Vieilles Vignes. And...all the Vieilles Vignes bottlings in Magnums are coming!
And a few more cases of the beautiful 2021s from Alain Coudert at the Clos de ls Roilette just arrived as well...
Côte de Brouilly and Roilette Fleurie arrive Wednesday, all others are in stock. All wines discount 10% on a case or mixed case.
Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) 2022 Beaujolais L'Ancien V. Vignes Nouveau
Wow, the 2022 L'Ancien Nouveau from the Domaine des Terres Dorees is sensational, just insanely delicious with lovely aromas of very ripe red currant and blackberry, with violet, plum skin and herbal notes. The palate is velvety and lush but with nice brightness, with very deep red and black fruit liqueur, a bit of bitter chocolate and earth with a nice kick of acidity that keeps it fresh in the finish. Moderate alcohol level at 12.5%. Thank you, Jean-Paul, for this delicious glass of organic sunshine! (2022 was another hot and dry year in many French vineyards, so yields were down, giving ripe, concentrated wines. Rains in August in some areas helped with ripening and acidity levels, so many 2022s will be full-bodied but well balanced.)
Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) 2020 Côte de Brouilly
Jean-Paul Brun of Domaine des Terres Dorées has 2 parcels of 50 year-old vines on a steep section of Mont Brouilly with a south-east exposition at about 1,000 ft of altitude. The thin soil is almost entirely stones of granite with a high iron content. (A more interesting terroir than the thicker, damper soils of Brouilly.) This is a gorgeous wine! Lovely, ripe blackberry and raspberry/strawberry fruit aromas with a touch of violets and earth. The palate is ripe but balanced with black and red fruit liqueur and fresh citrusy acids that linger in the finish. A beautiful Beaujolais for current drinking and over the next few years. Highly recommended! "Contains very little sulfite," says the label "store in a cool place and consume rapidly after uncorking" We haven't noticed any problem keeping this wine, but consuming rapidly after uncorking will be easy... DL
Desvignes 2021 Beaujolais L'Aube a Javernieres
2020 was the first vintage of "L'Aube à Javernières" and the first Desvignes wine to not be 100% cru Morgon, coming from a parcel of 20 to 30-year-old vines in deep clay soils on the edge of Javernières, just below the Cote du Py hill. The grapes are harvested by hand and the winemaking is consistent with most of the Desvignes wines, undergoing semi-carbonic fermentation and aged in concrete with no punchdowns. The 2021 is a fresh and exuberant expression of Gamay with pretty red fruit and cool herbs on the nose, backed by racy acidity that creates wonderful tension and a long finish that makes it a versatile pairing partner. Absolutely delicious and a great value for anyone who loves serious Beaujolais!
Descombes, Georges 2020 Morgon
Georges Descombes has created another superb Morgon in 2020 - not as bright perhaps as the 2014 (pictured) but with a similar balance of alcohol (13%), freshness and very ripe sappy fruit. The wine shows a bright, vivid red/black color with earth, violet and citrus notes mingling with lovely raspberry and blackberry aromas. The palate is ripe, silky and well-structured with fresh, velvety raspberry, cherry and blackberry fruit, with earth and mineral notes bringing texture and length to the sappy, lingering finish. This is a beautiful Morgon to serve cool with farm chicken, grilled pork and lamb, cow cheeses and charcuterie over the next 4 - 5 years. David Lillie
Descombes, Georges 2020 Brouilly
The 2020 Descombes Brouilly shows a deep red/black color, with aromas of ripe blackberry and strawberry liqueur, with violet, black pepper and citrus - quite lush and pretty. Dark and earthy black fruits on the supple, velvety palate, with good length of sappy fruit that is balanced by refreshing acidity in the finish. This is certainly one of the prettiest and most balanced of the 2020s, really quite delicious in the riper style of the vintage.
Descombes, Georges 2020 Regnié Vieilles Vignes
The 2020 Regnie VV is arriving at the importer's warehousse on 8/19, thus we have not had a chance to taste. Recent vintages of this wine have been sensational - here's our note on the 2018 - we would expect the 2020 to have a bit less alcohol and be a bit brighter...? "The 2018 Regnié Vieilles Vignes was one of the stars in last winter's tasting showing gorgeous red and black raspberry aromas with earth, citrus and spice, really lovely. The palate is elegant and long with black cherry, prune and red fruit liqueur with earth and smoke, with underlying mineral, graphite flavors. The wine is beautifully balanced and fresh at 13 - 13.5% alcohol, powerful yet refined and delicate, and will improve with a few years cellaring - but in such a nice place right now. This is an outstanding Beaujolais, simply delicious - serve cool with pork and lamb dishes, coq au vin, charcuterie, over the next ten years. EL"
Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2021 Fleurie Cuvée Tardive
From eighty year-old vines on clay and granite soil in Alain Coudert's beautiful Clos de la Roliette, just over the border from Moulin-a-Vent. By "Tardive," Alain Coudert implies that one should wait for this wine to mature, in this case probably about 3 to 5 years, although those unable to wait will certainly enjoy drinking it now. Brighter and with a bit less alcohol than the previous 3 vintages, the 2021 is a classic "Tardive" to hold for a few years, then enjoy until 2035...
Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2021 Fleurie Clos de la Roilette
2021 is another excellent vintage for Alain Coudert's Clos de la Roilette displaying the lovely fruit and firm acidity that characterizes this difficult year of very low yields. Beautiful aromas of ripe strawberry and tart plum with hints of citrus and violets. Deep citrusy red fruits coat the palate backed by bright acidity and saline mineral notes. A really lovely and well-balanced wine that's delicious now but will improve with a few years of cellaring.